BULLETIN 146.] [NOVEMBER, 1905. 



Ontario Department of Agriculture. 



WOMEN'S INSTITUTES. 



Uses of Fruits, Vegetables and Honey. 







USE OF FRUITS. 



Food Value. While fruits may be said to have a low nutritive 

 value, they are not as a rule estimated at their real value as food. 

 They supply a variety of flavors, mineral substances, some carbo-hydrate 

 and a necessary waste or bulky material for aiding in intestinal move- 

 ment. The flavors of fruits, while they elude chemical analysis, are 

 their most valuable possessions as stimulents to the appetite, and aids 

 to digestion. The mineral substances consist mainly of potash united 

 with various vegetable acids. These acids are converted in the body 

 into the corresponding carbonates and so help to render the blood more 

 alkaline. In some diseases, such as scurvy, this property is turned to 

 good account. 



All fruits contain pectin or vegetable jelly and cellulose. Pectin is 

 the main constituent of fruit jelly. 



When to Eat. Fruit is best eaten at breakfast or between meals. 

 A good apple first thing in the morning and the last thing at night is a 

 standard specific for indigestion. After a heavy dinner it is not so 

 valuable in the diet. 



Exposure of Fruit in Stores. Since the softer fruits decompose 

 so readily they should be eaten as fresh as possible. When fruits are 

 exposed to the air and the dust of the streets, as is so often the case, 

 they are exceedingly apt to decompose and suffer fermentative changes 

 which are very dangerous, and a fruitful source of digestive derange- 

 ments. 



As may be inferred it is of the first importance that fruits be ripe 

 and in good condition. They must also be delicately handled, as their 

 great value may be readily lost in careless handling. Luscious fruits 

 are so particualrly liable to putrefactive changes, that we must have 

 recourse to some of the various methods of preserving them. 



Selection and Preparation. The selection of fruit is the first step 

 in obtaining successful results. The flavor of fruit is not developed 

 until it is fully ripe, but the fermentation stage follows so closely upon 



